HIT MONKEY

"THE WORLDS GREATEST ASSASSIN"





































"Killer of Killers"

this is a book about a japanese snow monkey that gets possessed by the soul of an assassin. and then, he fights bullseye. Dude, he is a monkey that shoots guns , outsmarts bad guys, wears a suit and SHOOTS GUNS WITH HIS FEET!! do you love shit like this?

well i certainly do.


HIT MONKEY ROCKS!

this book is also totally violent! YAYeah!!

Superman: Earth One

Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Art by Shane Davis

























Let's do a thought experiment: you are Superman. You're twenty year old, moving from Smallville to Metropolis, the Big City, for the first time. You're still wet behind the ears, kind of a hayseed, but still, you know, fucking Superman. And you know this. The big question: do you become the world's first superhero, and also the world's biggest freak show, or do you use your superpowers to get rich and get laid? Quite a pickle. And you should make up your mind, because there's an alien invasion in like, twenty minutes and they are super-pissed about something...

I really like this book. Released as a hardcover from comic book super-scribe J. Michael Straczynski (The Twelve, Babylon 5), Superman: Earth One is officially the hot-shit of the minute. The second printing was announced before the first even hit the streets and that first run is nowhere to be seen, sold out as soon as it materialized. And there's good reason for that. Many attempts have been made by many writers to bring Superhero X "into the twenty-first century." The results of these endeavors are generally mixed, typically erring on the side of pandering. References to Twitter and Facebook, after all, aren't gonna cut it. But Superman: Earth One feels contemporary without resorting to these kinds of ploys. I could go on about Clark Kent as a metaphor for our culture in the new century--brimming with possibility but also directionless, a little vain, probably dangerous--but my co-bloggers would make me eat no end of shit for this.

More than anything, S:EO reaffirmed what working in a comic shop has made inescapably clear over the past few years: there are no bad superheroes, only bad writers. Even the most well-worn, cliche ridden funny-book characters can seem relevant and interesting in the hands of a proper wordsmith. And you can't get much more worn than old Supes.

Plus there's a pretty good giant-robot fight in the third act.

7 out of 8 iPods streaming YouTube videos of Justin Bieber.

BULLETPROOF COFFIN

mc - David Hine
on the beat - Shaky Kane

"Someone once wrote that the moon is a balloon. They were wrong. It is, in fact, a pockmarked skull. A skull that gazes down in baleful disapproval of our nocturnal activities." -Destroyovski 1967


This book is a trip down the bunnyhole of pseudo comic history that force feeds you dopeness. The layout and design of this book has Boner city written all over it. Its the story of this regular schmoe (he's a good dude) Steve Newman who has a wife and (creepy) kids that wouldn't notice if he never came home. He's got a terrible job that he doesn't mind doing...and a love for old comics. Golden Nuggets comics. Comics created by "the creators". By the end of number one he has found the suit of one of his favorite characters, The Coffin Fly, and who knew(?) it fits fucking perfect. He dons it and (time?) travels to crazy places and teams up with crazy awesome heroes...but is it a dream? What happens when these far out dreams bleed into reality?? This is a 6 part comic and part six is about to come out. They have ill bonus shit like dope fake ads for the old timey books that are all on topic and beautiful. EVEN THE (new)OLD COMICS THEMSELVES ARE IN THERE! There's no lame ass ads in these...none. No ufc dudes in their undies or the ruining of a story arc with a mountain dew ad with skateboarding in it. Nope, its like they actually fucking care.

UFO CULT/RED WRAITH/RAMONA QUEEN OF THE STONEAGE/THE UNFORGIVING EYE/THE SHADOW MEN

THIS IS MY PICK FOR BOOK OF THE YEAR.


I'm giving it an 8 babes to every dude at a dance party, and i know you like those odds ;)

Rambo 3.5

by Jim Rugg

 

You won't find this comic on many shelves, but if you see it on ours you should certainly purchase it.  100% Bro-tastic!  John Rambo + George Bush = one of a kind action.  Big guns, big muscles, big plans!  Jim Rugg delivers an awesome punch of machismo to the face of every Rambo fan.  Buy it.  Love it.  Tell your friends.

Burying Sandwiches

by Rob Sato

This is the story of a girl's tumultuous, lifelong relationship with food.  Janice Takeda doesn't care much for it.  From a very young age she has struggled with the idea of eating.  The whole process sickened her and by the age of nine she had decided to never eat again...UNTIL, the ghosts appeared.  They took care of her food for her, and she quite enjoyed their company.  One day, in the middle of a tirade about proper etiquette, she was overtaken by the urge to devour these critters.  And, no surprise to her, they were delicious!  The illustration is superb with heavy black ink and meticulous attention to detail.  This book is, hands down, my favorite comic ever.  I have recommended it countless times, complete with a money back guarantee, and a copy has never been returned.  It's absolutely delightful.

Rock solid 10 out of 10.

Orange

by Benjamin

A beautifully illustrated story of selfish teen angst.  Orange is a teenager that's having a hard time making the transition from girl to woman.  Everything is fake.  Nothing matters.  The story opens with her standing on the edge of a rooftop with suicide note in hand.  We then backtrack to get some history on her situation, finally coming back to the opening in the end.  Benjamin generally works in digital painting using a pen with a graphics tablet and image editing software.  Whatever he's doing, it looks fantastic!  The story is mildly irritating, as most teenagers can be.  The lush art and the cuteness of the main character make it forgivable.  And, lets be realistic, being a teenager really isn't easy.


25 oranges out of a bushel

Dragon Puncher

by James Kochalka

 

An all-ages funfest!  With clever use of photos and illustration, this book delivers satisfaction.  Meet the Dragon Puncher, a cute but ruthless kitty in an armored battle suit, dedicated to defeating dangerous dragons wherever they may be. The Dragon Puncher and his would-be sidekick Spoony-E (a fuzzy little fellow armed with a wooden spoon) confront a gigantic, drooling dragon and have a ridiculous, hilarious brawl.   The balance of words to pictures will appeal to even the most ADD of readers.  Jump on it, kemo sabe.

Enjoyment factor alone gives this book 10 out of 10 toes.

Dungeons and Dragons #1

Written by John Rogers
Art by Andrea Di Vito

I felt hopeful reading it, being a huge fan of the animated television series and a player of the game (way back when, and hopefully again in the near future). The cover art appealed to me more than the interior art.  The illustration is a little too polished for my taste, I need some grime on my adventurers.  The story is on point.  It contains all the classic elements of a fantasy adventure story; the witty warrior, the snooty elf, the arrogant dwarf, the cute and lovable thief, and the sexy magic user.  Will this combination of scoundrels find the origin of the zombies invading their town?!  Their interactions are comical and the action is high.  The cliffhanger ending invites the reader back for another issue.  Will I take the bait?

Overall, I'd give it 6 out of 10 eyes on a Beholder.

Cassanova Relaunch

Casanova
Written by Matt Fraction
Pencils by Gabriel Ba

So. In the nether reaches of time (2006), before they were two of the biggest names in the comic book industry, Matt Fraction and Gabriel Ba made this incredibly sweet book called Casanova. It's about a secret agent (sort of) who (basically) slips into an alternate universe full of blackmail, double/triple agents, and weird, pan-sexual monsters (among other things). There was shooting and sexing and time traveling and so on. I read the hell out of this book.

Fast forward a couple of years. Casanova runs for 14 issues under the banner of Image Comics before it is shit-canned. What was planned as a seven story-arc series was cut short at two. And the Sadness ensued. Do independent minded books stand a chance in this work-a-day world? Is there no room for the weird? For the pan-sexual monsters?

But then...hope! Marvel comics picked up Casanova under their "Icon" imprint and began republishing the series, from issue #1, earlier this year. The new edition is fully re-colored and features occasional extra content from Ba's brother and collaborator Fabio Moon. All 14 parts of the original series will be released on a monthly basis; four have been released so far. When the original run is complete, the creators plan to pick the series back up for the much anticipated third volume, comprising new issues 15-21.

"But what is the point?" you might ask. Here's the point: it seems to me that because this printing was toted as a "relaunch," Casanova might have slipped under the radar of those who didn't read it the first time around. And that is crying shame. Go snag Casanova #1 from your local comic book shop. You will be hooked. Get on board for this kick-ass monthly book that, lucky for us, was brought back to life by smart people. It'll be like we live in an alternate universe where Casanova was never canceled in the first place...

Unknown Soldier #25

Written by Joshua Dysart

Pencils by Alberto Ponticelli

Vertigo's relaunch of Unknown Solider ended today with issue number 25. It was an unbelievable banger of a comic book. Though DC cancelled the series unilaterally, Dysart wrapped that shit up with the best story arc yet and I heard that Ponticelli literally drew his ass off. He is without ass. He left all of it on the pages of Unknown Solider #25.

For my money, this series has been the best thing coming out in single issues for the past two years. If you haven't checked this one out yet, do yourself a favor and scoop up the first trade paperback collecting issues #1-6.

The Marvels Project #1

Written by Ed Brubaker (Criminal, Captain America)
Pencils by Steve Epting (Captain America)

The Marvel 70th Anniversary celebrated last Tuesday, Aug. 11 saw the release of two new titles from the House of Idea(s), The Marvels Project being one of them. In the tradition of Marvels (and maybe even DC's Kingdom Come), The Marvels Project runs down the reaction of us "normies" to the presence of supernatural, super powerful beings among us. The "normy" doing the running down in this case is a little known (to me anyway) hero named Angel from way back, when Marvel was still called "Timely Comics" and comics cost a strawpenny and nobody told lies. In this, the first issue, Angel is still Dr. Holloway and as he toys with the idea of fighting crime he relates the state of late 1930s America on the brink of war with Germany. Plus the American Government has invented the Human Torch. Plus Germany has been conducting experiments on Sea-People and the Prince of Atlantis is pissed. Fascinating Times, indeed.

Ed Brubaker is an unstoppable force. I don't want to stop him. Incognito is one of the best books out there, Captain America still kicks ass and Criminal? Come on. I think one of the things that makes his writing so sweet is his whole matter-of-fact approach to the fantastic. He just completely nails the tone of a life weary, unbiased observer who gets the outlandishness of what he's seeing but still wants to find out what happens next. The Marvels Project is this to the umpth degree. I fucking love it. You might think by this point that there was little left to work with when it comes to this theme of super-hero realism but that was before Brubaker got his mitts on it.

Read The Marvels Project, you won't be sorry.

"His hands looked like they were made by a sculptor who worked in wood, and thought big."

Parker:the Hunter
w/a- Darwyn Cooke adapted from the novel by Richard Stark (pseudonym of Donald Westlake)
Parker:the hunter? more like parker:the shit! this book was so effin great!i have been anticipating the release of this since it was announced last july,and it totally delivered.The Hunter is the story of meticulous planner and career criminal Parker who is double crossed on a heist and left for dead by his associates and his wife.Parker's not having that and comes back to New York lookin for his money from the job......and he's going to get it.Darwyn Cooke is one of the most amazing and unique illustrators ever,and he can tell a phenomenal story as well! (dc:new frontier,the first 13 issues of the spirit relaunch!) Parker is a very personal project for Cooke and he clearly has taken his time with the adapting and design of gorgeous visuals.the art is all two tone,black with a water colored blue on top. it is simultaneously hard and light,much like the character parker himself.he is out for revenge but has no extreme emotions (love,fear,hate,happiness!).the bold ink is the perfect compliment to his solid drive for revenge,while the watercolor brushing mirrors his ethereal emotions and desire. When thinking of his ex-wife Parker ponders "He hated her.he hated her and he loved her and he'd never felt either emotion for anyone before.never love,never hate,never for anyone.She put him here." check out a preview here
An amazing character that is not immediately likable (but fun to watch get turned loose) and an amazing effort from one of the mediums top talents.
-thank you mr.cooke.
In celebration of the bad-assery of The Hunter we will be having a movie showing of Payback:the Directors Cut.payback is adapted from the same source material as "the hunter" and stars mel Gibson as "Porter".this film is real awesome-ness and is directed by Brian Helgeland (oscar winner for best adapted screenplay-l.a. confidential ,shit!) come hang with us and watch "parker/porter" wreak havoc on the criminal underworld in search of his cut.if you've seen payback and NOT the directors cut it is a totally different and better film then the theatrical but.less gibson,more Helgeland.you're in for a treat.

poster by the lovely jeremy wheeler. peep it!

GET READY TO PARTY!

PLANETARY #27 IS SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE!!!!!!! OCTOBER 7th!!there are colored pages! dc/wildstorm knows they cant fuck this up!get ready for closure on one of the worlds greatest works of fiction.and for those that have never read it (shame on you,but i understand) and were waiting for it to be finished before diving in........get read to have your mind blown.......and probably your eardrums as well.we'll be ranting about this one,i can tell you!
congratulations mssr's ellis,cassaday,and madame depuy martin.

- 11 out of 10 for having the balls to announce this.
- all this awesomeness depicted on this cover actually happens in the series
READ IT! lets not have a repeat of the "criminal incident"

Green Lantern: Blackest Night #1

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE! I've never really tried reading Green Lantern before. THIS WAS AWESOME! READ IT! Geoff Johns is the man!

T-Minus: the Race to the Moon

Here's the thing: I love historical graphic novels (comic books, etc.). Love 'em. Here's another thing: T-Minus by Jim Ottaviani and co. is maybe the best one I've ever read. On top of making the whole thing really funny and accessible (for those of us not aeronautic engineers or mathematicians), he doesn't spare the technical details that give weight to the whole daunting, mind-fuck of an endeavour that is Putting a Man on the Moon.

Read this, I'm serious. And I heard a rumor that Jim O. himself is having a release party for the book at Vault of Midnight this Monday...

Greek Street #1

Are you tired of modern reinterpretations of classic literature? Me too.

Invincible 10: Who's The Boss?

This is the book I've been waiting for since I started reading Invincible. Curtis turned me on to Invincible around the time the third trade was out and I've been hooked ever since. But this one... wow. If you're one of those people who think Robert Kirkman is overrated, this book is the evidence that you are wrong. The action is spectacular and truly kinetic. The characters continue to develop and change as the story progresses. The story is engaging and the dialogue is spot on. This is how a Superhero book is done.

Plus the title of every trade is the title of a sitcom while also relating to the events in the book. Genius!

If you're not reading Invincible, you should be. If you are, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.

20th Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa

URASAWA IS THE NEW OSAMA TEZUKA. There, I said it.

I have no idea what's going on. One of those crazy "childhood friends have to reunite as adults to fight a malevolent force from their youth" kind of Stephen King stories. The story jumps around in time and it's fucking cool. 3 volumes of 22 are available in English so far. From Naoki Urasawa, author of Monster and Pluto. Get in on the ground floor, sucker!

Unwritten #2

I've been on the fence with Mike Carey. I've become concerned that he's kind of a one-trick pony. My fears were confirmed with the first issue of Unwritten. But since I like the guy, and I loved his work on Lucifer and Hellblazer, I decided to stick with it a little while longer. I'm glad I did. He breaks down hundreds of years of literary history in a matter of pages and it's somehow interesting whether you give a shit about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or Charles Dickens or not. He's really up there with Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore in that respect. Weeeeeeee!

wolverine:old man logan giant size dropping 9/23!

So i think old man logan has been totally kick ass! yeah,more so then uh....kick-ass.heh!i like THIS mark millar.no half ass political metaphors to cloud the phenomenal action and awesome serial storytelling.SNIKT mofos!i dont even care about the delays (allthough they are hilarious!) i mean im still waiting for the last issue of planetary! so i will continue to wait until the conclusion that drops 9/23! we'll probably see a hardcover collection around november-ish.if you haven't checked this one yet all the singles are in print,scwoop em up.do you like wolverine?word,me too!do you like Unforgiven? shit yeah, you KNOW i do too! then read this piece!
peace.

The Unwritten #1

Of all the new books coming out recently this one had me the most excited. Vertigo was really pushing this, there were three or four page previews in the back of Hellblazer and such for awhile, and I liked what I saw. The premise seemed strong, the art had that mix of style and accessibility that I like so much, Mike Carey was on board. And it was about stories. I love stories about stories. I know that sounds weird but it's true. Well issue #1 is finally out and I am not disappointed. I only hope that Mike Carey and Peter Gross truly realize what they've got on their hands (I get the feeling they do) because it feels like something special to me. It's only the first issue so I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I dig it, and I think it has legs. I don't want to lay out the premise for you because the way they set it all up is neat and much more fun to read if you don't really know where it's heading. And best of all it's only a dollar! Genius! I hope this comic sells through the roof so more publishers can see what a brilliant marketing strategy this is. Do you know how many more comics I would give a chance to if the first issue was only a dollar? Hell, I'd buy 'em all.

Keep and eye on this one. If you like comics that are well written, well drawn, and not the same old crap you've been reading since forever, you could do a whole lot worse. Go scoop it up. It's only a buck, and if you're really that cheap, I'll even spot you that.

Pluto #1-2

I've been sitting here for awhile trying to think of what to say about Pluto besides “you must read this book.” I'm having trouble. There's just so much good here.

Story: someone is gunning for the seven greatest robots in the world, as well a few scattered “Robots Rights” advocates. Detective Gesicht is put on the case, a robot himself, and incidentally one of the seven supposedly targeted by the killer. This is a retelling of the “The Greatest Robot on Earth” story arc from Astro Boy, by the legendary Osamu Tezuka. You don't need to have read any Astro Boy to get down with this, but if you haven't this may just inspire you to explore the phenomenon for yourself. If you are familiar with the source material then you will find much to knowingly nod and smile about. The themes concerning the nature of humanity and what it means to be “alive”, themes that made up the central concept behind Astro Boy, are well preserved and even expanded upon in Pluto. the way these supposedly “emotionless” characters are brought to life is remarkable.

Art: Naoki Urasawa has managed something pretty amazing in these pages. He has taken Tezuka's somewhat “cartoony” (for lack of a better term) style and brought it into the real world, while maintaining the unique character aesthetic and expressions that Tezuka is known for. Fusing these two ideas with his own style Urasawa creates a thing of beauty. The story is wonderful, but the art brings an emotion and drama to it that raises the work to a whole new level.

So, you really should read this book. Don't be afraid that it's manga, or that it reads right-to-left, or that it comes from something you may be unfamiliar with. None of that matters. This is good stuff, brilliant science fiction, and it will sweep you away in moments. If it doesn't then it's possible you may not have a soul. You might want to get that checked out.

Cursed Pirate Girl #0

It's a funny thing, I enjoyed the four page story in this “preview” more than I've enjoyed half the stuff I've been reading lately. Having said that, and having seen some of the preview work for this series, I believe it is one to watch, and now that it finally has a publisher, we can do that. Jeremy Bastian's art style is wonderfully unique and expressive. It ranges from absurd to realistic, sometimes even in the same panel. He is also quite funny. Let me give you a sample: “The worst pirate I ever seen went by the name Captain Squeak. When we came up on his ship he ordered his men to chop down their own mast, and then throw their cannons overboard. Then them buggers attacked us... with bananas! Turns out 'ol Captain Squeak was just two monkeys and a portrait of Queen Mirl of Gerrick.” Now that is funny. I urge you to put this on your pull list immediately. I've just got this funny feeling that it's going to rock.

Ignition City #1-2

Warren Ellis has become some sort of crazy, multi-media juggernaut. The sheer volume of work that he is currently producing makes it difficult for his fans to keep up with what he's working on. I'm a big fan of Warren Ellis, some of his books are some of my all time favorite comics, so it's kind of strange that I find his abundant presence dismaying. It has become obvious to me, and others, that he's spreading himself thin, and that his work is suffering somewhat as a result. I can no longer blindly pick up a book with his name on it, secure in the knowledge that it will melt my face off. He is no longer as consistent as he once was. So what about this “Ignition City”? It has potential. I'm not terribly thrilled with the art style, but it works. So far the story is interesting, interesting enough to see where it's going anyway. I'm willing to give it a chance to improve, only because I think it may, if I knew for sure that it was only going to be as good as it is now I wouldn't bother reading anymore.

The Boys #1-29

Okay, everyone who isn't reading "The Boys" please raise your hand. Good, I'd like all of you to stay after class for a well-deserved beating. Here's why:

"The Boys" takes place in a world where super heroes and villains are commonplace, they're celebrities, but all they really do is run around making a mess of things. The story centers around "Wee" Hughie, whose girlfriend is caught in the crossfire of a super hero/super villain battle and is quite messily killed. Hughie is subsequently tapped by a covert, government group know simply as The Boys, each member having some sort of axe to grind with super heroes. They're job is to observe and, if necessary, police the super powered community (though, honestly, they're pretty much just looking for an excuse to take them out). The Boys are super powered themselves, giving them the necessary muscle to deal with their enemies. The resulting altercations are wonderfully brutal and gory, as they realistically would be.

Garth Ennis (Preacher, Crossed) is in full swing with this one, clearly loving every moment of the ride, and pulling zero punches along the way. I get that same feeling I got when I was reading "Preacher" all those years ago. This confluence of entertaining violence, depraved sexual exploits, and a well crafted storyline are not something you see every day, and for good reason, because it's a damn hard trick to pull off. Darick Robertson (Transmetropolitan, Punisher) delivers as well, with his accessible yet unique style, bringing the story to life beautifully. You can almost feel every face crushing punch and rent limb.

"The Boys" is by far my favorite comic right now, I eagerly await its arrival every month and immediately devour its contents at the first available opportunity. It's super heroes as they would actually be in the real world; arrogant, selfish, power-drunk bastards with no concern for anyone. It's wonderfully violent and depraved, with engaging characters and terrific dialogue, often extremely hilarious, all topped off with some poignant social commentary (and lots of boobs). It's Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson at their best.

The first 22 issues have already been collected, so get your ass down to The Vault and start reading.